how long do you mix fresh sw?

[Captain Nemo]

I mix my saltwater on thursday and let it mix for 24 hours, then change my water on friday. I mix it in a 32 gal brute trash can with a mag 7 and heater.

 

[m and m]

I do not have the luxury of having a RO station so Friday morning make 20G of water normally take a few hours. I put one container away for adding water all week and the other four I mix with a maxi jet and a heater till whenever I get around to Saturday. This normally is roughly 20-30 hours.

 

[johnanddawn]

i have a 35 gal water jug that always has mixed salt water in it with a small pump and airstone - ready when i need it

 

[Bubbles_B]

In an emergency as quick as you can get it mixed. Non-emergency at least 24hrs.

Gotta agree with Rev :xd:

 

[raymond]

i mix it over night with powerhead and heater, better to make sure its mixed up nice and good, i had an emergancy though one time were i couldnt let it mix that long and i didnt see anything bad happen

 

[m and m]

i mix it over night with powerhead and heater, better to make sure its mixed up nice and good, i had an emergancy though one time were i couldnt let it mix that long and i didnt see anything bad happen

What happends when you do a qiuck mix is that alot of crap builds up at the bottom or top that i normaly scoop out if its there after a day. Also i recall reading some where the parameters wont be right though out the hole bucket. Like the tops Alk might be high then the bottoms alk in the bucket.

 

[Curtie44]

I mix/use as soon as the water is clear and measures the proper salinity. On rare occasions, when I'm actually on the ball, I'll start mixing the night before a WC. I'd say 98% of the time it's the former, though.

 

[swannyson7]

I've always mixed at least overnight unless I was in a pinch. I try to keep at least 20 gallons ready in case of a crisis, but sometimes that's just not enough.

 

[aalvarado87]

i keep 20 gallons of saltwater on had all the time i just have a pump running in it. when needed i toss a heater in it heat that puppy up and throw it in the tank. I believe that if you keep it up to temp all the time won't you get some algae growth in the water?

 

[Michael7979]

I usually make up water the day before I'm actually going to do the WC.
That way I know it is waiting for me and it also makes me do the change even if I do not really want to.
Hate to have water setting around as it makes me feel lazier then normal! LOL

 

[ReeferDan]

emergency situation right away but otherwise wait a day and use heater and circulate as well

 

[kingfisherfleshy]

Alright guys...

I am now mixing my SW...the first couple times, no issues. Only mixed overnight.

This past time, I poured the water friday night, added salt saturday morning, and then used it sunday morning.

Everything was coated in some sort of white slime.

I have seen this before, but it was new for me....I always wash out/off all my equipment and dry them out with a clean towel before putting everything away...my container is covered....does anyone else have this? How do I avoid it?

Thanks

 

[melev]

When you mix up your saltwater, do you add the salt to the water? Or the water on top of a pile of salt?

I mix mine up for at least a day, but usually it's a week until I use it. And now that I have a giant poly tank full of saltwater at all times, it mixes for weeks on end, always ready. It holds 250g of saltwater.

 

[kingfisherfleshy]

I add salt to the heated, aerated(ing), pump running water.

I thought the gross slime I had seen on other people's stuff was because they didnt wash it out. I wont be mixing my h2o for longer than 12 hours again unless I can figure out what went wrong.

 

[Captain Nemo]

I had that same problem once, but adding a heater fixed it for me. and shaking my salt bucket prior to mixing. just my .02

 

[kingfisherfleshy]

I had that same problem once, but adding a heater fixed it for me. and shaking my salt bucket prior to mixing. just my .02

Thanks for the response...I have a heater in the tank...water is warm, probably close to 80F.

Any idea what that stuff is? Its gross, hoping it wont happen again especially if I dont let my water sit that long.

 

[swissgaurd]

been mixing salt for 24 hrs prior to using it for eons.
i found if you add water to the salt it dont mix right.
i always add salt to water
i add salt when bucket is half full of water.

 

[Captain Nemo]

do you have good water flow??? I have a mag drive pump moving mine.....

 

[patent]

24 hours is ideal, but I just stir and add to the tank. Its nice to let it aerate all night so that the pH levels out for some mixes, but if you are doing a normal size water change it won't have a major effect on your tank. If you are doing a large water change it would be nice to let it sit, but those situations are usually an emergency where you can't let it sit. You should add the salt to the water. If you pour water on the salt, you will have (at least initially) a very, very high salt concentration in the location the water hits the salt, and some ions will mix and precipitate out of the solution. Maybe not a big deal in the scheme of things, but as most of us have the choice its better to put water in first.

All that said, I don't think most of this is a big deal. I usually just pour the new fresh RODI water into my sump, and then pour the salt on top of it. But then I'm lazy.

 

[patent]

What happends when you do a qiuck mix is that alot of crap builds up at the bottom or top that i normaly scoop out if its there after a day.

Personally, I don't have that happen. Quick mixes work fine for me, nothing left over.

Also i recall reading some where the parameters wont be right though out the hole bucket. Like the tops Alk might be high then the bottoms alk in the bucket.

Not likely, but even if true, once in your tank it all gets mixed and balanced out. Only real danger is if you are so concentrated you have precipitates, but even then not likely to be a big issue unless you try really hard.